David Beckham must make space for bats

David Beckham has been ordered to create a safe space for bats within the grounds of his home.

The 46-year-old former footballer and his wife Victoria Beckham had applied for planning permission to knock down an old outbuilding on their Cotswolds estate and replace it with a new garage to house their tractors and lawnmowers.

Although council planners have approved the scheme, the pair – who have sons Brooklyn, 22, Romeo, 19, Cruz, 16 and daughter Harper, 10, together – must show proof the new building will offer shelter for the nocturnal mammals before they can go ahead with constructing the garage.

Documents obtained by the Daily Mail newspaper’s Eden Confidential column stated: “Before the erection of any external walls, details of the provision of at least one integrated bat box within the walls of the new building shall be submitted for approval.”

And the couple also have to consider the bats when it comes to lighting as they are prohibited from installing any outdoor fixtures which “would directly illuminate the bat box or the hedge-row without prior approval to protect roosting, foraging or community bats.”

Meanwhile

“We have a lot of fun. We support each other with everything that we do, but it’s about have fun and enjoying that person’s company. I genuinely love being with him.”

It was recently revealed the couple had installed a £7,000 state-of-the-art ice cream machine at their Oxfordshire estate, which recreates frozen treats from the American fast food chain Wendy’s.

A source said recently: “Posh hasn’t eaten ice cream in about two decades because she’s so health-conscious.

“But she agreed to get the Wendy’s machine packed over from the US because their daughter Harper loves a sweet treat. They had their team negotiate with the chain to get one of the machines especially for them to bring a bit of US culture over.

“It’s now been properly installed in their home and is an unlikely addition, to say the least. It cost thousands and had to be professionally fitted.

“But to them it’s a price worth paying, even though Victoria has barely been near it.”